Probably because the penny is officially eliminated
karmagirl314 on
Pennies aren’t real.
oberwolfach on
I’m surprised that the machine gives you 2% more money than you put in. I suppose the pressing machine charges money to operate and the change machine is a loss leader to get more people to use the pressing machine.
threebillion6 on
So 50 bucks and you get back a dollar?
JD0x0 on
This machine is literally a free money hack. Just keep putting in $5 and get back $5.10
PurpleTreeMushroom on
I collect pressed pennies, and always would bring pre 1982 copper ones bc they looked better. They started using slugs, and some don’t even let you put in quarters, it’s card only with slugs already in the machine. It’s really sad. I think I started seeing the change three years ago, I think it was the first wave. Now it’s all gonna happen everywhere probably.
MotherPotential on
Is this really more convenient for the owner than cashing them all at the bank?
Acrobatic_Weird_1313 on
Officer Tenpenny…
SirMingie on
For a second I really thought you tried to shove $6 in at once. Took me way too long to figure that one out
Accurate_Koala_4698 on
Slugs
yeahitsaburner2021 on
Those looks like they might actually be penny blanks that accidentally left the mint unstruck. Highly collectible to coin collectors! You might have made a little score!
SpyDiego on
Thats awesome. I want to construct a machine that only takes pennies. But maybe for your effort you get a little extra in return. Like you give 100 pennies, you get a dollar bill and maybe like a candy, nail, somethin
yourmomscheese on
Seems like a, put in a dollar, get change and a blank. Put the blank and fifty cents into our other machine and get a press.
SpecialNeedsBurrito on
They are real. You got pennies that somehow missed the stage they are stamped with a design. Keep them they are worth a few bucks each
SilentWatcher83228 on
There are no pennies available to refill the machine so they’ve resorted to using blanks
Taolan13 on
These are called ‘slugs’, and actually existed in the market for years before the recent cessation of penny mining.
They are the same copper plated zinc body as regular pennies, the same weight of both metals, but not fully stamped. They are blanks originally intended to be used for calibration of certain coin machines. There were some claims that these commemorative coin machines were ‘illegally defacing US currency’ (only a crime if it is defaced beyond use and you attempt to pass it off as currency after it has been defaced), and so some locations started providing the slugs instead.
Some places even spring for full copper blanks, which are worth quite a bit more than a penny.
Ifyouseemethenimhere on
I think you might be able to play a game for free somewhere…
stlmick on
There is some thinking required for how all this came about.
Souvenir penny press machines used to take 2 quarters and you provided your own penny.
There used to be a notice that the museum or monument had legal permission from the US mint or whoever to destroy some pennies.
People don’t carry change like they used to, but might have a single dollar.
Enter the change machine. It now gives the customer 4 quarters and two pennies. The quarters are mostly coming back. The pennies become the product, and also an advertisement.
Some people don’t want to destroy any US currency, even a penny.
Electroplated zinc pennies don’t give a good press, and you can see the zinc through it. Even the copper pennies don’t really add to the appeal of the souvenir by adding Abe Lincolns smashed patinaed face.
Switching to blanks instead of pennies solves most of the issues without any additional redesign of the machinery.
Amish_Robotics_Lab on
When I was a kid we used to tape pennies to the railroad tracks and later they would be thin and stretched out and it was FREE.
beorn961 on
Why does this give you two pennies along with your 4 quarters? I genuinely don’t understand.
21 Comments
Super pressed. Flat, even.
Probably because the penny is officially eliminated
Pennies aren’t real.
I’m surprised that the machine gives you 2% more money than you put in. I suppose the pressing machine charges money to operate and the change machine is a loss leader to get more people to use the pressing machine.
So 50 bucks and you get back a dollar?
This machine is literally a free money hack. Just keep putting in $5 and get back $5.10
I collect pressed pennies, and always would bring pre 1982 copper ones bc they looked better. They started using slugs, and some don’t even let you put in quarters, it’s card only with slugs already in the machine. It’s really sad. I think I started seeing the change three years ago, I think it was the first wave. Now it’s all gonna happen everywhere probably.
Is this really more convenient for the owner than cashing them all at the bank?
Officer Tenpenny…
For a second I really thought you tried to shove $6 in at once. Took me way too long to figure that one out
Slugs
Those looks like they might actually be penny blanks that accidentally left the mint unstruck. Highly collectible to coin collectors! You might have made a little score!
Thats awesome. I want to construct a machine that only takes pennies. But maybe for your effort you get a little extra in return. Like you give 100 pennies, you get a dollar bill and maybe like a candy, nail, somethin
Seems like a, put in a dollar, get change and a blank. Put the blank and fifty cents into our other machine and get a press.
They are real. You got pennies that somehow missed the stage they are stamped with a design. Keep them they are worth a few bucks each
There are no pennies available to refill the machine so they’ve resorted to using blanks
These are called ‘slugs’, and actually existed in the market for years before the recent cessation of penny mining.
They are the same copper plated zinc body as regular pennies, the same weight of both metals, but not fully stamped. They are blanks originally intended to be used for calibration of certain coin machines. There were some claims that these commemorative coin machines were ‘illegally defacing US currency’ (only a crime if it is defaced beyond use and you attempt to pass it off as currency after it has been defaced), and so some locations started providing the slugs instead.
Some places even spring for full copper blanks, which are worth quite a bit more than a penny.
I think you might be able to play a game for free somewhere…
There is some thinking required for how all this came about.
Souvenir penny press machines used to take 2 quarters and you provided your own penny.
There used to be a notice that the museum or monument had legal permission from the US mint or whoever to destroy some pennies.
People don’t carry change like they used to, but might have a single dollar.
Enter the change machine. It now gives the customer 4 quarters and two pennies. The quarters are mostly coming back. The pennies become the product, and also an advertisement.
Some people don’t want to destroy any US currency, even a penny.
Electroplated zinc pennies don’t give a good press, and you can see the zinc through it. Even the copper pennies don’t really add to the appeal of the souvenir by adding Abe Lincolns smashed patinaed face.
Switching to blanks instead of pennies solves most of the issues without any additional redesign of the machinery.
When I was a kid we used to tape pennies to the railroad tracks and later they would be thin and stretched out and it was FREE.
Why does this give you two pennies along with your 4 quarters? I genuinely don’t understand.